Predator of Predators
by wulfenheim
Summary: Why? She asked. Do humans ask the same thing before you eat them? The creature responded with a question of its own. When three new pieces enters the game, the rules change. Humans and ghouls? More like the appetizer and the main course. Rated M
1. Chapter 1

Predator of Predators: Prologue

* * *

A woman could be seen running through dense foliage. Her breathing was heavy and her muscles were worn out after constant running. Blood, which flowed from the large wound on her back, left a trail behind her. Her left leg was limping, clearly from the broken ankle it sported. Her movement was severely hampered, and her strength was constantly waning.

The woman tried screaming for help, but she knew deep inside, help would not come. Tears fell from her eyes when she reached a dead-end.

'Is this the end?' She asked herself, as a stream of tears fell from her eyes. She knew the smell of eminent death, and this was it. She had taken her fair share of human lives, and she knew how each of her victims felt right before she killed them, it was fear. A sudden rustling in the woods took her attention, startling her.

'This is it' She told herself, shivering from her own fear and the cold winds that blew in the night. 'I'm going to die here'

'I don't want to die' were her last thoughts, before something emerged from the woods. The instant and natural response of her body was to release her kagune. Four bluish-red tendrils emerged from her lower-back, ready to be used by her. But her fear was at such a high level that her Kagune wouldn't even respond to her mental signals anymore, like a muscle that simply would move no matter how much you want it to.

In an instant, merely 1.5 milliseconds, her Kagune was torn to shreds by the creature that chased after her. She screamed in pain, a natural reaction to extreme pain from having her muscles torn off.

While a ghoul's kagune is naturally more resilient that other parts of their body, it still had pain receptors like any other muscle in the body.

"…why?.." She managed to ask despite her current predicament, about to be killed and all. Silence was the only answer to her question.

In a 10 mile radius, all those who had the capacity to hear could hear the pained scream of a woman. To most, it sent a chill down their spines. To some, it meant the death of another monster.

* * *

CCG HEADQUARTERS:

"This has been going on for 5 months now" A man said as he set down a file on his desk. Around him were dozens of other CCG members, who have been called to this meeting. "I've contacted other CCG headquarters and apparently Germany and Russia had come across these murders before"

"So you believe this….person is here in Japan?" A CCG agent commented, lighting a cigarette on his mouth as he said so. Others scowled at this, but there was no 'no smoking' policy in the CCG. "I can't wait to meet this mystery ghoul killer"

"Reports show that the corpses of these killed ghouls have most parts eaten" A female CCG agent said as she skimmed through the details on the file. It had pictures of half-eaten ghouls, scattered entrails in the woods, body parts lying around and a picture of a ghoul whose spine had been torn off. "What if it's just cannibalism? It's not uncommon for ghouls to start eating each other"

"I considered that once, and so did the German CCG analyst" Their leader said. "But the bite marks and wounds don't resemble something made by a ghoul's bite marks or any Kagune. Closer inspection revealed that the wounds were made by something really sharp. As in, 'it can slice through any known material' sharp, even quinque steel"

"So what're we going to do about it? I mean, if this thing is killing ghouls then let it" Another CCG agent said nonchalantly. "That's a good thing isn't it?"

Everyone who joined the meeting silently agreed. This thing, whatever it was, left a trail of half-eaten ghoul corpses and some unrecognizable bodies, but all were ghouls, which earned it a star in the CCG's book of good manners. Heck anything that meant it would give trouble to the ghouls was a good thing for the CCG.

"While I do agree with your opinion, unfortunately the higher-ups have decided that we capture this thing" Their leader said with a sigh. Honestly, what he wanted personally was to get this person to cooperate with them. Perhaps even have him or her join the CCG since 3 of the victims were identified as S-rank ghouls, which are quite strong. But the higher-ups had different plans so he had no choice. "All CCG headquarters around the world have been given the same order"

"Such a curious creature" Someone said from the back. All CCG agents turned and saw Arima Kishou sitting there with a puzzled expression on his face. Arima Kishou, a legend within the CCG. It was he who defeated the One Eyed Owl in single combat and won. His word, to this day, remains highly valued and respected by all CCG agents. "If ghouls primarily hunt humans for food, then it's possible that something also hunts them for the same reason. Such a curious thought, and imagine the possibilities if we had something like that within the CCG"

Now, every CCG agent in Japan prized anything Arima could possibly say or give. What he had just stated was somewhat….plausible for everyone who heard it. A predator that hunts the predator of humans, it's quite the chilling thought that something like that existed somewhere out there. Arima also gave a very valid statement when he mentioned the possibility of it working with the CCG, but that wasn't possible.

"Hmmmm…..Special Class Arima, what are your thoughts on this?" The head investigator asked.

"Didn't I just share my thoughts on this not a few seconds ago?" Arima retorted monotonously. "Beyond what I shared…..I'm truthfully unsure on what to think of this whole situation. Maybe it is an unknown species or perhaps some rogue CCG members, I am not sure. "

* * *

SOMEWHERE:

"Priscilla" A white haired man greeted. In front of him was a young girl, probably in her teen years. Blood dripped from her mouth and was splattered all over her clothes. "We'll be moving to the city soon. You should clean yourself and get some rest"

"Where's Raki?" Priscilla asked, taking off her clothes and throwing them on the floor. Her next course of action was to walk to the comfort room to take a shower, but she stopped near the bathroom door to hear the answer to her question. Her eyes flicked back to the white-haired man, anticipation evident upon them.

"Raki is out buying some much needed supplies for the three of us" The white-haired man replied with a smile, though the smile was more of a habitual smile than a real one. He had noticed the worry etched upon her voice, the smile was meant to reassure her that Raki was going to be fine, not that anything could hurt him anyway. "Don't worry, he'll be back soon"

"Okay" Was Priscilla's answer, right before she turned around and stepped into the bathroom. Silence had befallen their little cabin, and only the tiny sounds of the creatures of the night broke the silence every so often.

A few minutes later, a knock on the door could be heard. The doorknob spun, creating a creaking sound, and a boy stepped inside carrying some grocery items and some travel clothing procured from the local market. The boy had brunette hair, much like Priscilla's own, and had a heavily built body from past training.

"Isley" The boy greeted, before placing the items on a nearby desk. "A truck will take us to the city tomorrow, and by then the corpse of that ghoul will have been discovered by local authorities, but we'll be long gone. So we'll have to leave early"

"Alright" The white-haired man now identified as Isley responded, nodding his head slightly as he did so. "You should get some rest, Raki"

Raki nodded and sat down on the nearby couch, but immediately stood up and removed something from his back and placed it on the table beside Isley. It was a small dagger, made from the same metal that is used for a Claymore's sword, with a brown leather sheath that could safely remain hidden under his shirt.

Raki stared at the dagger for a few seconds, reminiscing, before closing his eyes to sleep. So many sad memories were carried by that dagger, and he would remember all of them every time he saw it, and each memory would be relived within his mind every time he unsheathed it. It was so painful that sleep was the only reprieve he had.

He was, however, awakened by Priscilla who called out to him.

"Raki" He heard her say. The teen opened his right eye, leaving his left eye closed as if he was only giving half of his attention, with a bored look on his face. Priscilla gave him the same look, but the face could only give out so much information. Raki immediately recognized her concern for him. Honestly, he was the only person she knew who could understand her and comfort her when needed.

"Yes?" Raki said in a monotonous voice. Those who didn't know him would hear his current tone as a bored-annoyed one, only Priscilla and Isley recognized it as one of warmth.

"Never mind…I forgot what I was going to say" Priscilla said before walking away, she was, of course, fully nude as she did so, but Raki and Isley had seen such a scene so many times that they were used to it by now. She then stopped near the door to her room and turned around to face Raki, who now had both eyes closed. "Did you buy me some new clothes?"

Raki didn't bother responding; instead he just grabbed a green bag and threw it at Priscilla, who caught it rather easily.

"Don't tear it again" Raki said. Priscilla did have a habit of tearing up her clothes when she was out hunting. Heck, she just did so with her last clothing when she hunted down that female ghoul.

* * *

TOKYO CCG HQ: 18 Hours Later

"Another one was found earlier this morning" A CCG investigator said as he handed over the data they'd recovered. The head investigator opened the file and saw a picture of a female ghoul whose entire chest cavity had been ripped open. Both her arms were gone and one of her eyeballs was hanging loosely. "This corpse was left mangled and broken like all the others that are associated with the unknown Ghoul Killer. I believe the Ghoul Killer is getting nearer to the city."

"Our orders are clear, but I'm not going to divert any of our forces to focus solely on this mission" The head investigator said, placing the folder he had just received on the cabinet beside him. "Just tell the investigators that this is only a secondary priority"

"Yes sir" With that, the lower investigator left the room and started relaying the orders of their commander to all CCG operatives.

"_To all CCG operatives listening to this broadcast: Capture of the elusive Ghoul Killer has been given a mission rate of level 2. Please relay this information to CCG operatives who may not have heard this"_

Over the past months, news had spread all over the CCG about this mysterious Ghoul Killer. At first it was only rumors of ghoul corpses being found scattered and mangled all over the countryside of Japan. Then one investigator linked the similar findings that had been found in Europe and thus the Ghoul Killer was branded. Then again, most of the CCG members didn't particularly care about this at all.

"Hmm? Amon-kun, it appears we have a secondary mission on our hands eh?" Kureo Mado, another legend within the CCG, said with a slight psychotic grin. Kureo Mado, first class ghoul investigator and a renowned quinque pioneer. Many revered him for his guidance and ability to spot ghouls even in dense crowds. As such, he is admired by many CCG investigators.

"A secondary mission is still a mission" Mado's apprentice, Koutarou Amon, said, sipping some coffee as he did so.

"Isley" Raki began. Isley, who was previously reading a book, diverted his attention to Raki. "From what information I've gathered, Tokyo is filled with these Ghouls, which means there'll also be a large amount of those ghoul investigators there and that's not such a good thing for us"

"Hmmm… agreed" Isley responded, this time leaving a bookmark in place and placing his favorite book in his bag. "Priscilla and I will have to start eating less. I can manage that, but I'm not so sure about Priscilla. So you'll have to talk to her about this, she listens to you more than she listens to me"

Both men turned to the sleeping form of Priscilla, and both sighed a heavy sigh.

'Ghouls huh?' Raki said to himself. He would never forget the first time he saw and clashed against one of these things. From his memory, it was rather pathetic….

FLASHBACK:

* * *

"_Oh it's so nice to know that there are still some young people who're willing to help old ladies" An old woman said, smiling. Raki followed behind her, carrying what seemed to be her luggage. It looked heavy, so he decided to help, turns out it was quite the load for an old woman. He extended his help, like any well-mannered person should've, and the old lady accepted it._

"_So where's this house of yours?" Raki asked, slightly agitated that they were walking to an isolated area. As Isley had taught him: "Always keep your defenses active", and he did just that. The fact that the old woman didn't answer his question only served to tighten his guard even more. His left hand dragged the luggage, while his right hand now gripped the handle of his dagger._

"_Well thank you m'boy" The old lady said with a smile, but Raki saw through it instantly._

'_Something's not right' He thought. His senses were going haywire now, his instincts told him to prepare for an eminent battle. But he was going to play along for now, what harm could an old woman bring him anyway? "Well here's your bag"_

_Just when he handed over her bag, he saw it. Blood leaked from the inner folds of the luggage, seeping into the ground. His instincts yelled at him to strafe to the right, and so he did. He turned his gaze back to where he had previously stood. The old woman was now there, but she was not the elderly he'd helped earlier. What was previously an old lady was now a monster._

_Black and red eyes, tendrils spewing forth from her back and a mouth of absolute hunger. Yup, nothing he hadn't faced before. In fact, this one seemed prettier than any yoma or awakened being he'd ever seen. It was just that he'd never expected monsters to exist here as well._

_The creature lunged at him with laughable speed, and Raki responded by slipping to the right and slashing at the creature's triceps in the left arm. It screamed in pain and rage, but Raki wasn't finished. Without warning, he plunged the dagger through the back of the knee and through the front, effectively preventing the creature from moving. _

_Although it now lacked any chasing ability, the tendrils on its back were still dangerous and Raki perceived such a danger from this and was able to avoid being skewered._

"_You fucking bastard!" The creature yelled at the top of its lungs. Blood streamed from its left arm's triceps, and it was unable to stand up properly due to the devastating wound on its knee. "You doves should just all die!"_

"_Dove?" Raki repeated the last word she had just said. Dove, while he knew of the bird, it was obviously used to name something else entirely. No matter, his curiosity will have to be sated later. "I can assure you, I am no dove"_

"_DIE!" The creature yelled at the top of its voice as it sent all the tendrils behind it towards Raki, who merely stood there waiting._

"_How pitiful" Raki said, almost as a whisper. What he did next was a feat most humans could never do, and he did so at an impossible speed._

_He raised his right arm sideways, dropped the dagger, ducked under the tendrils, maneuvered slightly to the left and kicked the handle of the dagger, sending it flying straight for the ghoul's forehead. All in a matter of 1.5 seconds, and the ghoul was dead._

_Honestly, he could've killed this thing before it could've even thought about killing him, but he'd heard the news that was constantly on television. This world was home to creatures that feasted on human flesh, they were known as ghouls. Not that he didn't have an experience with human eating monsters before, but he'd honestly never seen a ghoul either._

* * *

END FLASHBACK:

"Have you ever fought a ghoul Isley? Or at least gave it time to fight back?" Raki suddenly asked the man in front of him. His voice was below the sound of a whisper, but Isley's enhanced senses could detect it as if he wasn't whispering.

"No" Was Isley's straight answer. "Everytime I hunted one down, I never gave it any time to fight back or even see me for that matter. I just killed them from a distance, and ate what was left. If they couldn't even dodge my arrows, my weakest offense, then how could I expect them to fight on even ground?"

"A fair point" Raki replied. Silence crept upon them again, and only the sound of the train was audible. With nothing to do, Raki turned on the tiny television beside him and attached a pair of earphones as to not disturb his fellow passengers.

"_-as you can see the 14__th__ ward is swarming with CCG operatives-add a pinch of salt and- I'm Jeremy Wade and I'm here on- are you ready kids?-"_

Ok, maybe the television won't be a good time killer after all.

His current train of thoughts, however, was disturbed when an explosion suddenly rocked the train.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1:

"This is Rin Takizawa, and I'm standing here 10 meters away from the train wreckage" The news reporter, a woman known on TV as Rin Takizawa, said. The audible sound of the television immediately took the attention of everyone at Anteiku. The scene that was displayed on the TV was of a burning train, on a broken railroad that had been split in half. Hundreds of civilians were dead around the train since the explosion happened near the terminal. "The police are currently investigating the causes of the explosion and-"

Everyone's attention inside the coffee shop, including one purple-haired beauty who was previously reading, was intensified on the TV screen.

"Wait! It appears there's still someone inside the train!" The news reporter suddenly yelled. The cameraman responded by positioning the camera at an angle that made the scene clearer. There was a silhouette that could be seen through the thick flames. "Wait!...There's two people still trapped in there!"

The scene changed when the camera was directed towards the firemen who rushed towards the entrance that was closest to the silhouette.

INSIDE:

'I could've just jumped out this damn train and be off with Isley and Priscilla….' Raki thought, before turning his gaze down to the person he was currently carrying. He didn't know this person's name; just that he was the only one he could save out of the hundred passengers. The white bundle of hair brushed against his face as he leaned in and kicked the nearest window open, crushing the glass. '…..I could've done that, but…I'd be feeling a lot of guilt right after'

With that, Raki jumped off.

OUTSIDE:

"Oh my god! He jumped out!" The reporter's voice was barely noticed by everyone since their attention was focused on the brown haired boy who jumped off the train's window. Somehow, the boy was able to grab a cable wire mid-air and used it rappel himself down, along with the person he was carrying.

He landed safely on the ground, his face showing no signs of fear or shock from the stunt he'd just pulled.

"I think he needs medical attention" The brown haired boy simply stated. The medics immediately rushed towards them. The boy he'd rescued was taken away and placed inside an ambulance, whilst Raki himself was only slightly dizzy from all the fumes he had inhaled while inside the train. At least that's what he thought.

'Wha?' Was all Raki could mutter within his own mind as he fell forward, with the medics barely able to catch him. Blood was flowing from the back of his head, and it was flowing at an alarming rate.

"Get a stretcher!" The medical specialist yelled. "He's got a head wound!"

MUCH LATER: City Hospital

"He should be fully recovered by next week" A nurse said to Isley, who stood just outside Raki's room, with Priscilla sleeping on the chair next to him. It has been three days since Raki has been hospitalized, and Isley and Priscilla eventually got scared enough to come visit him. "There were several metal shrapnel embedded on the back of his head and his right ankle was dislocated, probably from the fall. Well at least his injuries weren't that serious compared to the other patients here. Some had their arms and legs cut off."

"Thank you" Isley said nonchalantly, smiling as he did so. The nurse walked away, carrying Raki's medical profile. Just then, a doctor walked out of Raki's room. Said doctor stiffened slightly when he saw the two people sitting outside. There was a tense silence between them before Isley finally spoke again. "I must say, I'm surprised you came here before us…..Rigaldo"

"That's Dr. Rigaldo" The young doctor replied with a sigh. "Honestly, you two are the last people I wanted to meet. Let's continue talking some other time, there are many injured patients from that explosion and every capable doctor has been called in."

"Of course, Dr. Rigaldo" Isley said with a smile, and an almost mocking tone. "We need to talk soon anyways. So many things to discuss"

"Indeed" Was all Rigaldo said before walking away to other rooms. Isley stood up and peered over the window to see Raki still unconscious on the hospital bed. Just as Rigaldo had said earlier, Raki wasn't in critical condition anymore.

A question did linger in his mind. A question he wanted to ask Raki ever since he pulled off that reckless stunt to save a single person.

'Why would you do something like that?'

It was in that moment that Priscilla awakened.

"Would you like to see Raki?" Isley asked her. Priscilla responded by nodding and heading inside the room with no regard for anything that stood in front of her. Luckily, no such things were present at the moment, so no one and nothing was thrown aside.

"Raki" She whispered softly, stopping beside Raki's bed. The girl sat down on the nearest chair and held Raki's hand. She didn't move for several minutes, just staying there beside the boy.

It had been clear from day 1 that Priscilla had been smitten by Raki, though the girl herself didn't know that. When Isley saw this, he thought he'd gained a means to control Priscilla, a means to further his own goal. But the more time the trio spent together, his goals became increasingly blurred. It was something that awakened beings were said to never feel, yet he himself fell victim to it.

Contentment. He became content with a life of just the three of them, his own little make-believe family. In fact, Isley himself barely ate during their time together. Family, the thing he thought he'd never have.

Just then, Priscilla abruptly dropped Raki's hand and turned her head to the side. The brunette teen stiffened for a moment, almost as if she noticed something was wrong. Isley saw this and was instantly on high alert. Whatever Priscilla had sensed was very near. He couldn't detect whatever Priscilla had detected, so it must be dangerous.

"What is it?" Isley asked, keeping calm, but in actuality, his right arm was ready to morph into a lance just in case something attacked them. No, he wasn't reacting like this because there might be ghouls here. He was reacting like this for something else entirely.

"I can smell something strange here" Priscilla muttered quietly, but Isley heard it and remained vigilant. "Some sort of ghoul-"

That was all Isley needed to hear before he reverted back to his 'I don't care' attitude, a ghoul wasn't something he'd ever be cautious of. Not even if he was surrounded by a thousand of them. After all, they were prey and he was the predator.

"That's it? A ghoul?" Isley said in a deadpan tone before sitting down on the chair opposite to where Priscilla was resting. "You should go check it out if you want to. Don't worry about Raki, I'll stay here in the meantime."

MEANWHILE:

How unlucky does a person have to be when all he wants is a date and then he ends up half-dead with holes all over his body? Very unlucky

Unfortunately for one Kaneki Ken, his luck was just a bit lower than that.

A few days ago, he asked a girl out on a date. What happened? The beautiful girl turned out to be a ghoul who, like all others of the same species, wanted to eat him. Running was futile, his defense was absolute bull**** and there was a hungry crackhead super-psycho ready to eat him.

'I hate my life' was all he could think of before tendrils emerged from the girls' back and pierced him in several areas all over his body. He should've died there, but no. The girl, Rize, kept him alive for her own amusement. Although it seemed like absolute futility, he tried running away and the ghoul gleefully followed him.

She stabbed at him with her red tendrils again and again, yet he stayed alive and kept on running until his feet could no longer carry him. He fell to the ground, almost lifeless, but every fiber of his being fighting to stay alive.

"You're quite stubborn aren't you?" He heard Rize say with glee. "But it's over now-"

He didn't know what happened next. Just that there were several loud crashes and all he could see was darkness.

"So you're finally awake" An old man's voice suddenly said. Kaneki turned to the source of the voice but found that his vision was still distorted. It almost seemed like a whirlwind of colors that didn't make any sense. He could make out the vaguely human shapes, but that was it. "You were in an accident"

At first it came as a weird feeling. Like the feeling we all get when we leave the house, and wonder if we might've left the stove on. Something was definitely wrong. From the way he could smell everything almost everything in great detail. He recognized the smell of the doctor, he even knew his body age from the smell alone. His nose also picked up the scent of the young nurse who sat beside the doctor. His eyes were still weak, but he could already tell everything that was going on inside the room from the smell alone.

'What the hell's going on?' Kaneki asked himself. This didn't make any sense. 'Wait!'

"You shouldn't get stressed right now Kaneki-kun" He heard the doctor's voice again, telling him to calm down. "Your injuries might reopen, and we wouldn't want that would we?"

"…injuries?" Kaneki repeated, before looking down and staring at his own chest. His face turned into one of utter shock when he realized…"….it wasn't a dream…."

Numerous wounds were partially healed all over his torso; in the exact places Rize had stabbed him. One was on his shoulder, another was on the right side of his chest, three on his right leg, 2 on his left leg, and the one on his abdomen.

"Get some rest" The doctor advised, and Kaneki did just that. It didn't take long for the doctor and his nurse to vacate the room, leaving him alone.

'Should I tell them about Rize?...No…wait…..if they found me then they must've found her right?...that doesn't make sense…..How am I still alive?' So many questions bubbled up in his head. Yet there were no answers to any of them. All he could do now was to trust in time to reveal all things.

Outside Kaneki's hospital room, there stood Priscilla, just watching. This strange creature had the scent of both human and ghoul, aka food. It kind of reminded her of those blonde-haired warriors from long ago…..

She eventually left though, after concluding that this strange being was harmless. It didn't even smell delicious enough to eat.

A FEW MINUTES LATER:

"Priscilla, I think we should go back to the hotel soon" Were the words that immediately left Isley's lips when he saw Priscilla descending from the nearby stairway. "I don't think Raki will be waking up anytime soon"

"Ok" Priscilla's reply was short and straight to the point. Isley was right, anyone who went through all that would be very unconscious right now. So it was best to just leave Raki here for the week. "Let's go"

IN ANOTHER ROOM:

A blonde haired teen currently lied down on the hospital bed. A man in a suit sat beside his sleeping form.

"Ahh Shinohara-san" A doctor, who had just arrived in the room, greeted.

"Dr. Rigaldo, how long till he fully recovers?" The man, now identified as Shinohara, asked with serious anticipation lingering in his voice. Shinohara rushed to the hospital when he heard the news. He visited the room of the boy, who rescued his subordinate, earlier, but found that he too had suffered some injuries greater than the ones Juzou had taken.

"Well…he took a lot of blunt force trauma to the head, but nothing too serious" Dr. Rigaldo began explaining. "He should be out in two or three days."

"That's good news" Shinohara said, relieved. "What about that boy who rescued him? Is he going to be alright?"

"Oh that kid? He'll be out next week if he's lucky. If he isn't, then I'd give him two weeks tops." Dr. Rigaldo said nonchalantly, whilst writing something on the pad he had brought with him. "…..Somehow the rescuer had more wounds than the rescued, ironic huh?"

"It is ironic, but I am very grateful that he saved Juzou" This boy who now lay before him asleep, was like a son to him and dying to a train accident, if that was what it was, was no way for a Ghoul Investigator to go down. "I would very much like to meet him when he-"

"DR. RIGALDO!" A nurse yelled at the top of her lungs as she rushed inside the room. Both Shinohara and Dr. Rigaldo turned to her with raised eyebrows, and they saw the sense of emergency on her face. "Patient 334 has awakened, but is reacting violently towards the nurses who are trying to sedate him. He's knocked-out two nurses already! He's still inside his room, but other nurses can't approach him without getting beat up!"

"If he moves too much then his wounds will reopen and then I'll have to spend another hour tending to his wounds instead of spending my free time with Teresa" Rigaldo said with a sigh, before turning to face Shinohara. "Excuse me Mr. Shinohara; I have a patient to sedate"

DOWNSTAIRS:

Raki was confused and disoriented. His vision was hazy, and it seems he was surrounded by multiple Yoma….wearing white outfits. Still, he could defend himself, but not for long. There were multiple wounds around his body, where he got them he did not know.

Right now, he had no time to spend on these yoma. He had to find Clare fast or-

'Wait what?' Then reality all came crashing down. His vision returned, and he could see that what he thought were Yoma, were actually nurses. Slowly, he let his arms relax and fall. "Sorry about that"

With a heavy mind, and body, Raki slowly returned to his bed, which caused the nurses, who were gathered around him, to become utterly confused. A moment ago, this boy was reacting violently to anything they did, even threw two nurses through the nearby window (You know, the window from INSIDE). His face showed that he was calm, yet ready to engage in battle, then this happens and now it doesn't make sense anymore. Maybe it was because of the shrapnel that was previously embedded on his head that caused this?

Probably.

Not a minute later, Dr. Rigaldo entered the scene.

"I see he's recovering quite well" Then he grabbed a VERY big syringe and approached Raki. "This should calm you down. We don't want your wounds to reopen do we?"

'Oh fuck'

LATER:

"I think the patient is still asleep…" Raki heard Rigaldo's voice say from outside the room. He tried to sit up, but found that whatever Rigaldo had injected into his body was causing a lot of numbness; he didn't even know where his feet were. "But you may wait inside. If you're lucky, he might be awake. But I've recently injected a large amount of sedatives into his body to prevent him from tearing up his muscles again; it might've hampered his ability to speak"

"That's alright" Raki heard another voice. "He doesn't need to speak; all he needs to do is listen to what I have to say."

"Meh….suit yourself" Was the last thing Raki heard before the very audible sound of the door was next. Then there were footsteps, it stopped next to the chair that he knew was there.

Deciding to stop his little act of sleeping, Raki turned his head to the person who just entered the room. The first thing he noticed was the snow white hair and eye-glasses. Then he noticed the black tie, white suit and black pants.

'Probably someone from the CCG?' Was Raki's prediction.

"You've created quite the commotion back at the CCG headquarters you know…" The man began speaking. Whatever it was he was talking about, Raki had no interest in it, but he'd humor this person for now. "Oh I'm sorry, where are my manners? My name is Kishou Arima"

Now Raki recognized that name, but he just couldn't figure out where he last saw or heard it. From a magazine perhaps, or from the television? He wasn't sure, but this piqued his interest, a little bit.

"….and you must be Raki Abend (German for Evening/Dusk), a pleasure to meet you" The man, who now identified himself as Arima, greeted. Raki raised an eyebrow when Arima took out a laptop from his briefcase and turned it to him. "I suppose you're wondering about what I meant when I said: "You've created quite the commotion….""

'Yes, I'm very curious' Were his thoughts. Somehow, Arima could read him and decided to show him through the computer.

"These were surveillance tapes given to us by the CCG in France" Arima said, right before playing a video file.

Raki recognized it instantly.

FLASHBACK:

"_Are you lost?" Raki asked a small girl who was crying on a park bench. On his way here, he'd already seen her. He assumed that her toy was broken or something, hence why she was crying. An hour later, when he and Priscilla were about to leave, the child was still there, crying. So he simply told Priscilla to go on ahead without him._

"_Hey" He said again, trying hard to muster a non-threatening tone. "Where are your parents?"_

_The girl continued crying, but pointed at something over the distance. It was also at this moment, that Raki noticed the lack of people within the park. The only people here were him and the little girl. This would be an ideal place for an amb-_

_Then he started laughing._

'_How could I ever fall for such an obvious trap' He thought, turning around to face the little girl. Now that his body was turned, the girl wasn't there anymore. 'Isley would be disappointed'_

_The next thing he did was so fast that regular people wouldn't be able to see him move at all. Raki took out his dagger, from a conveniently placed pocket on his right leg, and slashed at the air behind him. Nothing happened for a few seconds, then an arm suddenly dropped from seemingly out of thin air. Then something screamed, a few meters away from him was a male ghoul who had lost its left arm._

'_So he must be hunting to feed that girl from before? Was she his daughter?' He asked himself before setting his sights back to the wounded ghoul. "I'll give you 5 seconds to run"_

_The male ghoul backed away in terror, before screaming, and Raki knew all too well what that would entail. _

'_Oh shit' Were his thoughts before a pack of 7 ghouls descended around him. A stupid fool would've simply stood there and waited for the ghouls to attack. Raki, on the other hand, moved at superhuman speeds to kill the closest ghoul while it was still in mid-air where it couldn't dodge. He slashed its jugular, then twisted the dagger while it was halfway inside the flesh. 'It should die of blood-loss'_

_He then deflected a kagune that was aimed right for his head. Deflected and severed right after deflecting it. _

_Seeing himself at a horrendous disadvantage, Raki opted to do the trick of divide and conquer. His next move was so fast that none of the ghouls was able to see him do it until it was too late._

"_GLUURRGGGHH!"_

_The 6 remaining ghouls turned to the source of the odd sound and saw their previously amputated brethren now had a dagger through his throat. They all turned to where Raki previously was, but found that he wasn't there anymore. Instead, Raki sneaked up on the thinnest looking ghoul and simply twisted its neck, causing it to fall to the ground a lifeless corpse._

_After that, it was his ridiculously quick reflexes that allowed him to dodge 5 kagunes that were all trying impale him from every possible angle. The remaining ghouls were no pushovers, the second after Raki dodged, they began their barrage of untamed strikes. _

'_What the hell is this supposed to be?' Raki asked no one in particular as he dodged all their clumsy attacks easily. As someone who'd been trapped in a room full of claymores who wanted to kill him, and then fighting on even ground for an hour, these 5 were nothing. 'I better finish this soon'_

_The ghouls weren't even able to notice what happened until it was over. One second they were attacking the human, the next, they were covered in small blades. The 5 ghouls fell to the ground, all of them dead._

END FLASHBACK:

"….there was a camera?" Raki finally spoke. To which Arima responded with a smile.

"Yes, there was a camera and yes, I know that that person in the recorded video was you" Arima said, before his face became serious again. He closed the laptop and placed it back into his briefcase. "Now for the real reason why I'm here…I want to extend an offer: Would you like to join the CCG?"

AND CUT!


	3. Chapter 3

_**AN: I'm so sorry for not updating earlier, I got stuck with real life and its corresponding problems. So here it is. I've also made it a point that this story will not focus on Kaneki and Raki alone. It will give an in-depth story telling of many characters like Arima. But, having said that, the earlier chapters will focus more on Kaneki and Raki.**_

Chapter 2:

_My mother?_

_I never met her. She left when I was barely able to walk. Since then, my father was the one who raised me. He often joked that mom could punch through walls when she was angry…I never took it seriously though._

_I only ever heard about her appearance and persona from my father. He always told me that she had the most beautiful pale-blonde hair, which reached her thighs, and she had silver eyes. There were no clear pictures of her in any album, not even during their wedding. Her face was always shrouded by something. Her own hair, or some cloth that was just placed there at the right moment to cover her face, yet her eyes always came into view. _

_Beautiful silver eyes._

_At first I thought she simply abandoned us, but my father always said that she loved us with all her being, it was just that she simply couldn't stay for long. I never understood, even now I still don't understand why she left, but I moved on. _

_My father always taught me to forget the past and move on towards the future. But I do not deny that I long to see my mother. Each and every day, whenever I see a woman with pale-blonde hair, I would imagine her walking up to me and saying: "Hello son". _

_I realized long ago that such thoughts were simply childish, but the heart has a way of being more truthful than the mind. _

_Her name? I don't really remember…._

…..

Arima Kishou, the white reaper of the CCG and arguably the greatest ghoul hunter of all time, sat alone in his office. His face was one of melancholy as he gazed out the window of his office. Sighing, he stood up, checked the nearby clock, and proceeded to the meeting room of Special Class Investigators. All the while the melancholy on his face never left, and he himself never noticed the lone tear that fell from his right eye.

…

"So you've been invited to join the CCG because of that stunt you pulled in Paris?" It was Isley who spoke with mild annoyance aimed at Raki, who was still trying to figure out why he didn't see that camera. Really though, that was probably the biggest mistake he'd ever made when they came to this place. One of the most important things to do before engaging in battle was to scout out the battlefield, and that was exactly what he didn't do. "That was very clumsy of you Raki"

"Yeah, but this could actually work to our advantage" Raki answered as he stood up and looked out the window. "According to our sources, Japan houses the highest Ghoul population per square mile. It definitely doesn't have the highest overall Ghoul population in the world, mind you, but there would be plenty here for you and Priscilla to hunt without getting noticed. Heck, I could even cover your tracks properly now if I'm working with the doves, or the CCG."

Isley thought about it for a moment, then turned his attention to Priscilla who just sat on the couch playing video games and eating junk food. If he joined the CCG, they would have to stay here in Japan permanently. Now that, in itself, wasn't a problem with all the gold they had, and they, being him and Priscilla, would have a stable amount of food since they don't really eat that much to begin with. The problem, therein, lies with the advantage. If they do get caught here, escaping would be a problem….not really a problem for someone like Priscilla who would probably decide to kill everything that isn't him or Raki during that time, but he didn't want this world finding out about them. But if they DID find out…then what?

'Alright….let's see where this goes' Isley thought with a slight shrug as he turned back to Raki. "Sure…why not? Just make sure to be discreet."

"Now I'm excited"

Priscilla turned her attention towards Raki for a few milliseconds before switching her focus back to her game again.

'It smells like…..mom's cooking…' Kaneki Ken, the human teen who was recently turned into a ghoul, thought when he picked up the scent of bleeding human flesh off the alleys. It was just earlier during the day when he found out that he was a ghoul. All the food he previously loved now tasted like garbage, even his favorite hamburger was inedible now. It was when he turned to look at the television that he realized, with all the cruelty in the world, that he was now a ghoul, a monster who feasted on the flesh on innocent humans. Now he ran towards the source of that sweet smell, without any clue as to what it truly was.

Before he was able to enter the alley, he bumped into someone, causing him to fall to the ground like a trash heap.

"You have eyes for a reason, use them properly or don't use them at all." The person he had bumped earlier simply said before walking away. Kaneki turned to his direction for a few seconds, but was only able to see spiky brunette hair, before running back to his intended destination. His hunger was so great that he had immediately forgotten about the person in just a few seconds.

…

"Damn…" Raki muttered as he wiped off the dirt from his right sleeve. Dirt that shouldn't have been there if no one had ran straight at him, fell down and splashed dirt all over. Well, the past is the past and a thing as minor as this didn't merit any emotion from him. 'Now where is that CCG building anyway?'

MUCH LATER:

"Excuse me sir, do you have some business here?" A worker for the CCG, as Raki assumed, suddenly asked him right after he entered the building, passing through the RC scanners. Of course, since he'd just passed through the RC scanners, this question was probably more on the curiosity side rather than on the suspicious side. "Are you here to report a ghoul activity?"

"No…..err..uhm…..hmmm…..I'm looking for Kishou Arima" The worker's eyes widened momentarily as a response, before gesturing for Raki to follow him towards the elevator. As they walked, Raki couldn't help but notice several new investigators, who were all gathered together in front of a senior investigator. No doubt they were all trainees, and, as with all trainees, were being 'showed the ropes', so to speak. As they neared the elevator, the worker decided to break the short silence that had befallen. "You must be Raki Abend, I've heard a lot about you"

'Oh shit'

"I saw that video-feed myself, and let me tell you: That was some high-class Ghoul Extermination skills if I do say so myself"

"Uhmmm…thanks?"

"Hah! Don't mention it" The worker said, right before pressing a button to open the elevator doors. "The name's Kojiro, Sasaki Kojiro, Rank 1 Ghoul Investigator at your service"

'Ok what the fuck'

"Uhm hi?" Were the only words the left Raki's mouth, and also the only words he could think of as a form of response to that weird introduction.

"So who trained you?"

….

"…and that's when I learned how to use a dagger that way…" Raki said with a slight shrug as they exited the elevator. "…Oh and I even got this scar from that training too"

"So you were trained in Israel, and by the commandos? That's some heavy shit right there" Kojiro said, in slight awe of Raki's supposed training. "…And I thought I was special for having some military training before joining the CCG"

Now that their conversation had sort of stopped, Raki was able to take a good look of the floor he was in. There were a lot of cubicles, with a lot of people working inside each of them. Some were reading some paperwork, some were making some paperwork and others were busy chatting amongst themselves about paperwork. Across the room was a lone wooden door with ornate decorations.

"Anyway, that's Arima's office right there" Kojiro said, pointing towards the previously mentioned ornately decorated door at the other side of the room. "Let's talk again sometime"

"Yeah sure"

With that, Kojiro walked back into the elevator, leaving Raki alone. With a shrug, the teen started walking towards Arima's office, ignoring the stares he kept on receiving as he walked to the other side. He could hear the whispers, he could hear some of them openly cheering him for some reason, and then he noticed a monitor in one of the cubicles playing the vid that Arima has shown him back in the hospital.

'Shit'

MEANWHILE:

"I'm not a monster like you!"

*Cue girl shoving a piece of meat down someone's throat*

Moving on:

"So, have you made your decision?" Arima didn't even bother to look at Raki, when he entered, not even a glance. It was as if he knew that the only person who would enter his office was him and him alone.

"So I'm expected eh?" Raki said nonchalantly as he walked towards the chair that was right in front of the table where Arima was working on. "I can't say I'm surprised though"

"You're the only person, besides Director Washu himself, to come directly to my office at this time of night" Arima answered, setting down an entire load of paperwork unto his desk. "So….on to business. Will you join the CCG?"

"Hah! How could I say no to such an offer? But I think both if us already knew my answer even in the hospital right?" Raki answered, to which Arima could only give a very small smirk in response. "Seriously though, why would anyone turn down such an offer?"

"I guess so? Anyway, on to business then, if that's why you're here" Arima said with a slight shrug as he took out some sort of sheet from below his desk. "Just fill out this form first, and then you'll officially be my "apprentice", so to speak; since your skills would probably put you in as a Special Class Investigator. But we both know that's not possible since you technically don't have a reputation yet, so you'll just have to start as an apprentice. Report back here tomorrow at 10:00 am, bring those forms with you"

"Very well"

SOMEWHERE:  
"You saw Isley here?" A woman asked as she sat on the chair in the terrace of her house, her long blonde hair dancing with the wind as she sat. "I wonder how he got here? Did he get here the same way we did? I truly wonder"

"Priscilla and Raki were with him too" This time, it was Rigaldo who answered as he came out of the large wooden door of their house. Well, Dr. Rigaldo as he is known now. "The three of them came together. I saw Priscilla and Isley when they visited Raki after the train incident"

"Ah yes, that incident with the ghoul terrorists" The girl said dismissively. "Your food does not concern me at all dear. What's interesting is that a regular human is here with them; that kid Raki. He's just an ordinary human who was trained by Isley"

"Actually, based on the blood samples I took from him, he's anything but ordinary" Rigaldo answered, taking a seat behind the girl. "His blood samples indicate that there's Yoki present in his body, particularly centered in his heart. I don't know how he came to have that, but I'll wager it's the constant exposure to large amounts of Yoki from Priscilla and Isley. One thing's for sure though, this Yoki has made him a great deal faster and stronger than even the fastest and strongest humans. I'd even say he's stronger than most Ghouls"

"Meh" Was the girl's reaction, earning her a deadpan look from Rigaldo, who sat behind her. "And we still haven't found Claire?"

"Oh her" Rigaldo uttered with a sigh. "I've heard rumors, but never anything conclusive. Heck I even heard that she had a son and that her child had a genetic disease. But rumors are just rumors. We'll find her eventually"

"I miss her….I miss my little Claire"

"Don't worry, she's strong and smart. I'm sure she's okay…wherever she is in the world"

SOMEWHERE IN THE SIBERIAN WILDERNESS:

"This is Bravo Leader to Zulu leader, this area is clear. She's not here"

"This is Zulu Leader; we just finished searching this area. She's not here either. We're going back to base, it's getting too cold out here"

"Over and out"

Just as the communications device was turned off, a scream was heard, prompting the entire Zulu squad to turn to the direction of where the sound originated. All guns were turned to that direction; all 50 members of Zulu squad all had their guns ready.

"Check it out corporal" Their squad leader said, earning him a nod from the corporal. "We'll cover you, and take your group with you"

10 men left the group, and the rest followed closely behind, covering all possible locations.

"It might be her" Zulu leader muttered under the cold winter air. "Alert all squads near this location; tell them to build a perimeter around this location. That girl does not escape"

"Roger, squad leader"

Just as the message was relayed, another scream ripped through the air. The entire Zulu Squad was now in complete guard, all openings in their formation were instantly closed, and the corporal's group was recalled. Something was terribly wrong here. This was supposed to be a simple search and capture mission, and their target was just a girl, who was alone in the woods. They were told that the reason for her capture was that she had uncovered some classified documents that needed to be retrieved. Now they weren't so sure anymore.

"What the hell's going on? Corporal what did you see out there?"

"I don't know sir, but it was fast. I mean…..really fast, we couldn't even see the whole thing. Oh, and I believe it's using some sort of melee weapon"

"Do you think it might be a ghoul?"

"Unlikely, but possible, and if it is a ghoul, then we are very ill-equipped to fight it"

"I am no ghoul" A feminine voice said from behind them. The soldiers all turned around and aimed their weapons at the direction where the voice supposedly originated, only to find that they were aiming at nothing but air. Cold, empty air.

Then it all went to hell.

JAPAN: A day later

"This place is the training room" Arima began, gesturing for Raki to take a look around the large room with white walls...and tiles on the floor. Seriously though, this place looked a lot more like a hospital more than a training room. That stuff didn't really matter to him though, what mattered was the reason as to why Arima brought him here, which he had a gut feeling on what it was. "To get straight to the point: I brought you here to gauge your fighting skills. I mean no offence, but that video of you fighting ghouls was a tad inconclusive...to me at least"

"Very well" Was Raki's reply. The next thing Arima did was to walk towards the weapon rack, and taking out two wooden straight swords, which were the basic forms of most quinqes. Arima threw one sword towards Raki, who did a backflip for no apparent reason before catching it in mid-air. All of a sudden, the halls outside the training room were now filled with CCG investigators, who were all excited to see the spar between the White Reaper Arima, and the new kid who showed some impressive fighting skills on cam.

"This is gonna be good" said an investigator as he struggled to stay in place with all the people trying to get a good view of the spar through the glass windows.

In the Sparring Room:

"What are the rules of this spar?" Raki asked, almost bored, which caused the investigators outside to start cheering.

"Simple, the first one to be disarmed loses" Arima responded, immediately assuming a fighting pose. "So let's do our best okay?"

"Wait" Raki said, right before he walked towards the weapon rack and grabbed a smaller katana to be wielded simultaneously with the longer one. He then walked back to the place he was a few seconds ago, and grinned widely at Arima, who nodded in response. Raki exhaled, and entered into his own fighting stance; one that he himself had developed when fighting against 'them'. "Shall we?"

Arima nodded and, without warning, lunged at Raki, who was more than ready to evade the vertical-downward slash and delivered his own strike, which was parried by Arima. His next move was to use the smaller blade to slash at Arima's face, but this failed immediately when the White Reaper simply decided to jump back a few meters away.

'Damn he's fast' Raki thought as he entered another stance, one that was focused more on aggressive attacks. Without warning, Raki lunged at Arima, with the intention of using a horizontal attack. The beauty behind this attack was that the first strike was actually just a bluff; mid-swing, he would change his hand position to change the direction of the attack. That was all good in theory, but reality was quite different.

Arima entered a defensive position at the last second, and was able to defend against his attack. But Raki was relentless, he continued by spinning his whole body in mid-air and throwing a left roundhouse-kick towards Arima's face. Arima blocked the kick with his right arm, but was unable to foresee Raki's next attack, which came in the form of a risky, almost suicidal, move, which involved him spinning again to deliver a kick from his left leg.

It connected with Arima's abdomen, causing him to take a few steps back. But, Raki's reckless move had its own drawbacks, since Raki fell to the floor due to both of his legs being used to kick. He fell on the floor, and wasn't given anytime to stand-up as Arima seized the opportunity to kick him on the stomach.

'Shit that hurt' Raki thought as he was flung to the far side of the room and crashed against the wall. But he remained undaunted as he immediately stood up off the floor and entered into a combat stance once again.

Outside the training room seemed just as intense. The investigators, now numbering in the hundreds, watched in anticipation. Almost all of them had seen the footage of Raki manhandling those ghouls in France, and all of them agreed that that stunt required a lot of skill and guts; Raki had both.

Inside the room, the intensity was….intense! Both Raki and Arima were now currently engaged in a series of strikes and parries that seemed impossibly acrobatic to anyone who wasn't them. Raki cartwheeled to the left whilst simultaneously performing a dual thrust attack with both his blades, which was somehow blocked by Arima, who did a frontal flip with a matching vertical-downward slash that was aimed at Raki's head. Of course, Raki saw this and was able to react accordingly by parrying Arima's blade to the side and delivering his own counterattack using the smaller blade. It had almost connected, but Arima was able to jump back at the last moment and was able to avoid the attack.

"You truly have the skills of a special class investigator" Arima said under heavy breaths as he readied himself for another bout, which was coming in about 3…, .2…..1

Raki performed an acrobatic overhead kick using his left leg, which was then followed by a spinning strike using his left hand, which held the smaller blade. As usual, Arima was able to react accordingly, and dodged the kick and parried the strike before delivering a counterattack of his own. Arima delivered a heavy vertical slash towards Raki, who dodged it but was unable to dodge the front kick that came immediately after. As a result, he was sent backwards a few meters.

'Damn this guy's probably stronger than some Claymore's' Raki thought as he prepared for another assault. But before he continued, a thought came to mind. This had gone on for quite some time now; him attacking relentlessly and Arima blocking and counterattacking most of the time, though he did note that Arima sometimes initiated the fight. No, this straightforward strategy was definitely not going to work. A change of style would be most effective at this point in time.

Without wasting any time, Raki rushed towards Arima, who was more than ready to continue to fight. But in a strange switch of strategy, which caught Arima off-guard. Raki, before reaching Arima, threw his smaller sword towards Arima's face at such an angle that it momentarily blocked his vision. Of course, the sword in itself was no threat, but it was the temporary distraction that gave Raki the chance to dash to Arima's right side and delivering a crushing a left roundhouse kick, which struck Arima's abdomen, causing him to be flung towards the wall.

The Investigators outside now had their mouths agape in shock as they continued to watch the exchange.

Raki wasted no time in his assault. He leaped towards the downed form of Arima and performed a downward slash, but not all things always go according to plan. With a burst of speed, Arima was able to parry Raki's katana and counterattacked with an extremely fast horizontal slash towards Raki's neck. Raki saw this and immediately regained his footing and attacked with an attack that was identical to Arima's own attack.

The result? Both of them now had wooden katanas aimed at their necks.

"I guess this is a tie then?" Raki said with a dry chuckle that showed his exhaustion. Both of them immediately dropped their wooden swords to the floor. 'I haven't fought like that since…..that time. In fairness, there were several moments where he could've struck, but didn't. So this isn't exactly a tie.'

"I guess so" Was Arima's only reply. "Just rest for now, tomorrow I'll give you your Quinque"

Outside the room, all investigators who were watching simply couldn't believe their eyes. This new kid was somehow able to stalemate Arima, the White Reaper himself. No one, in the history of the CCG, had even lasted 2 minutes in a sparring match against Arima, then this kid comes along. Many now viewed Raki with great admiration for the skills and quick mindedness he had used. Word would soon spread to other CCG offices that someone was actually able to match Arima in battle.

To Raki though, it was another story. He was currently resting in the infirmary after that duel against Arima. But he knew that the man wasn't really trying to win; more like gauging Raki's skills as a fighter. If the man wanted to, then he could've overwhelmed Raki with his speed. Instead, he chose to be on the defensive…most of the time.

With a sigh, Raki decided to lie back against the pillow. He was definitely getting rusty now that it's been so very long that he had faced against strong opponents. Those Claymore trainees didn't count.

Still, his battle with Arima had gained him the fame and reputation he needed within the CCG. He didn't want anyone to think that he was just an amateur, who didn't know how to wield a weapon just because he didn't graduate form the CCG academy.

"Hello" Raki heard a soft female voice from his right and turned immediately to that direction. Beside him, he saw a person with white hair, pale skin, a slender physique and red stitches all over. 'What the shit?'

"Hello to you as well" Was Raki's polite answer. Strangely, he had the feeling that he'd seen this person before, but he wasn't so sure.

"My name's Juzou"

"Oh" Raki muttered absentmindedly. That's right, this person was the one he'd rescued in the train back then.


End file.
